


Let's Quiz!

by Fletcher



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Fluff, M/M, Quizzing, Romantic Comedy, extreme competitiveness
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-04-29
Updated: 2013-04-29
Packaged: 2017-12-09 22:36:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,624
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/778760
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Fletcher/pseuds/Fletcher
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Stiles knows exactly how many Oscar nominations Meryl Streep has, how many Grammy Awards there are on Aretha’s mantel, he even knows every single producer of The Sopranos.</p>
<p>Unfortunately, he seems to have no idea who Derek Hale is and why he is kicking ass in the quiz competition that his own team has ruled for years.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Let's Quiz!

“I really wanted that fondue set,” Jackson says, his voice dripping with disappointment.

Stiles pats him on his very muscled shoulder. “We all know how devoted you were to that fondue set, Jackson. “

“If Scott had managed to answer question 5, I would be walking away with _my_ fondue set right now, instead of blondie over there.”

“Hey,” Scott says outraged, “we all missed like two questions.”

“Which is normally enough to guarantee our victory,” Lydia continues, “if Team Lupin didn’t manage to always miss only one question. Seriously, who is Derek Hale and how can we vanquish him.”

“We don’t need to go that far, Lydia,” Stiles says.  “They have added some much needed eye candy to our Sunday. I mean, the average age of our competition is 65. We just need to find a way to beat him.”

“Right, I hate to say it but Stiles has a point.” Jackson leans forward. “What our team needs, is fresh blood. I suggest we eliminate Scott.”

“Seriously, Jackson, get off my back. Not knowing who won the Tour de France in 1903 just means I’m a normal person, not some walking encyclopedia like that Boyd guy.”

“Maybe they’re cheating,” Lydia says mischievously. “We just have to bust them. Whatever you do, don’t make contact. We’ll start our operation with a careful observation. Scott, try to control your face, they can read you like a book. Jackson, you can keep your smug face, it’s appropriate for once. Stiles, less Jim Carrey, more Daniel Day-Lewis, keep it serious.”

“Spoken like someone who has never seen the amazing ‘Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind’.  Shame on you Lydia, that movie should be part of your general knowledge.”

Lydia ignores Stiles and resumes unfolding her battle plan. “I agree with Jackson, we need some fresh blood. I looked it up in the rules after our second _defeat_ ,” she spits out the last word like it physically hurts to say.

“Turns out that every team is allowed to have five members, most teams just prefer to play with four members.  We need to recruit someone who can add something to our team, who has knowledge we don’t have.”

“Allison!” Scott shouts so loudly that the seniors at the table in front of them all turn their heads and Mrs. Finstock gives them a dirty look.

“Oops, sorry, I know you don’t appreciate loud noises, Mrs. Finstock, I’ll keep my voice down,” Scott apologizes, using his puppy face to its full advantage.

Mrs. Finstock, who takes five minutes to order a coffee because she is just that difficult, just nods at him and everyone turns back around. No one can resist Scott’s puppy face.

“Scott,” Lydia manages to say with a very patronizing tone, “we are Team Lacrosse, not Team Get Scott Laid.”

“Why can’t we be both? Allison is like really smart, she knows tons of stuff about Greek history and she is an art major.”

Stiles decides to help his best friend out against the formidable force that is Lydia.

“We do need someone who knows something about art, and Jackson specializes in Roman history while that Isaac guy seems to know everything the Greeks have ever done.”

“Plus, Allison is really hot,” Jackson decides to chime in.

Scott gives him the evil eye.   

“Fine, we will interrogate this ‘Allison’ next Monday”, Lydia pronounces her name as if she is talking about one of her science experiments. “We’ll see if she has what it takes to be part of this team. Now, let’s go home and study our asses off. Be very grateful Scott, this gives you a chance to ask her out for coffee.”

Jackson takes one last look at his fondue set which is currently sitting on the lap of Erica, the girl in Derek’s team and they walk out of the community center with as much grace as they can muster. Of course Stiles trips, but at least he manages to not fall on the ground.

*

When he sees the way Allison and Scott look at each other while they order their coffee, Stiles begins to understand why Scott wants to recruit her so badly. It looks like it is love at first sight for these two.

Lydia chugs down her coffee, seemingly not wanting to waste any time.

“What do you know about the Deaton Quiz Competition?”

“Um, Scott has told me that you guys meet up every Sunday to play against about 15 other teams. And that the Deaton Quiz Competition mainly consists of bored seniors.”

Stiles admits, “Yes, we are kind of evil, stealing prizes from adorable seniors. But in our defense, the prizes are totally awesome, especially for poor college students like us. Plus, the competition is sponsored by an old student called, as you have probably deduced, Deaton. It’s not like normal 60 –year-olds need three flat screen televisions. Selling the expensive stuff, means Scott and I can afford to keep our apartment. It’s been a lucrative business for the past two years.”

“Until Derek Hale came on the scene,” Jackson says. “We have ruled this competition since our first game and now we have lost three games. There is a foot bath on the line next week, we need to start winning again.”

“OK, can I ask you one more question? Why in the world is your team called Lacrosse?”

Stiles, Lydia and Scott throw accusing glares at Jackson.

“That’s all his fault,” Lydia explains, pointing at Jackson. “Apparently it’s not ‘cool’ to admit to your frat brothers that you’re a member of a quiz team. Officially, Jackson spends his Sunday afternoons playing lacrosse. Although, he probably doesn’t know a thing about the sport, his specialization is history and mainly Roman history. Scott answers the sport questions, Stiles is responsible for the pop culture section and I’m the one with general knowledge. What you could bring to the table, is Greek history and art and hopefully some extra general knowledge.”

“Well then, I think I’d like to officially apply to become a member of Team Lacrosse, if you want me.”

Scott eagerly says, “Lydia is our captain, but we all vote on the important issues. Everyone who wants Allison in our team, raise your hand right now.”

Scott raises his hand before he can even end his sentence. Stiles and Jackson follow and reluctantly, so does Lydia.

Lydia extends her hand to Allison, “Welcome to Team Lacrosse, I’ll send you a list of books you need to study by Sunday.”

*

Lydia spends the rest of the week stalking the rest of her team with flashcards, links to sites with obscure knowledge and so many books that she must have raided the library again. Stiles hopes that Allison doesn’t lose all her enthusiasm by Sunday but Scott seems to keep a permanent smile on her face. Stiles is really happy for his best friend but it does make things a bit awkward in their apartment. No one likes being the third wheel.

Luckily, he specializes in pop culture so he decides to watch his Hitchcock collection, there is always a Hitchcock question.

*

The next Sunday, Stiles immediately ignores Lydia’s instructions and decides to ogle their competition. It’s really unfair how hot they are, they look like they just wandered off the catwalk and decided to enter a quiz on a whim. Especially Derek Hale, who is totally Stiles’ type. He’s all tall, dark and handsome. Stiles is really glad that his wardrobe seems to consist out of tight fitting shirts that show of his very well developed muscles. When Lydia returns to their table with the forms, he realizes that he didn’t check out the rest of the team. For some reason, Derek seems to absorb all his attention. Not that he would reject anyone on Team Lupin. Isaac, Boyd and Erica are all very pretty, but there is just something about Derek that makes him stand out.

Before Stiles can further analyze his Derek focus, Jackson orders a beer which starts the weekly ‘are we allowed to drink alcohol’ discussion between Jackson and Lydia. Stiles really doesn’t understand why Jackson bothers. They’ve all heard Lydia’s speech about how alcohol kills vital brain cells they need for the quiz, about a million times.

But maybe Jackson just likes it when Lydia yells at him. They have a weird couple dynamic, they’re definitely not one of those overly sweet couples that Scott and Allison seem determined to become. It’s a bit depressing that Stiles will probably be the only single on their team. Stiles wouldn’t mind having a boyfriend, preferably one that looks like he could fit in with Team Lupin.

“We have about 15 minutes before the quiz starts,” Lydia starts saying after she’s finished lecturing Jackson.

“I’d like to use that time to discuss my Derek Hale related theory. I thinks it’s highly suspicious that Team Lupin just appeared out of nowhere in _our_ Deaton Quiz Competition. I’ve done some research and I can’t find any evidence of Derek Hale ever being in a quiz team. In fact, neither have Isaac Lahey, Vernon Boyd and Erica Reyes. So, we’re basically dealing with four newbies who immediately started winning. The question is, why are they suddenly competing?  I’ve only found one answer to that question: me.”

Stiles almost spits out his Coke. “What! Why would they compete because of you, Lydia? They probably just want the cool prizes like we do.”

“This isn’t about the prizes, well not for Derek anyway. I’ve talked to Mrs. Anderson and Derek doesn’t collect any of the prizes. So, the reason he is spending his Sundays competing in a quiz, has to be a person. And it seems likely that that person is me. This has happened to me before, the things guys will do because they have a crush, it’s ridiculous.” The last sentence seems to a gibe at Scott, who remains blissfully ignorant and continues smiling at Allison.

“I remember when Greenberg told me that he could eat 15 hotdogs in a row, as if that would somehow make him appealing to me. Of course, I did make him eat the 15 hotdogs and it wasn’t a pleasant experience for anyone.”

“Greenberg put the moves on my girl, that asshole!” Jackson stands up from his chair, like he’s getting ready to challenge Greenberg to a duel.

“Sit down, Jackson. We don’t have time for this jealousy nonsense. Besides, you have nothing to worry about, Greenberg is a geology major, he knows nothing about Roman history.”

“That still doesn’t prove that Derek is crushing on you,” Stiles insists.

“Yes, Stiles, I’m sure Derek Hale is majorly crushing on you so he decided to start a quiz team just to be closer to you. We have to be realistic about this, it has to be me.”

“You’re probably right,” Stiles concedes. “No one has ever eaten 15 hotdogs in a row for me.”

“And they probably never will,” Lydia finishes. “Trust me, that’s a good thing. There’s no need to look like I’ve just killed your cat. When this mission is finished and Derek Hale is vanquished, we will start Operation ‘Get Stiles a boyfriend’.”

Scott looks indignantly at Lydia. “I thought that wasn’t allowed.”

“Unlike you, Stiles has never wanted to use this team as his own personal dating service.”

Scott shuts up.

*

The quiz lasts about two hours and five rounds. Allison turns out to be a very good addition. Her knowledge gives them the extra push they needed and they manage to answer every single question correctly. Team Lupin misses one question in every round like they usually do, which is not longer enough to get them the victory.

When Mrs. Anderson declares Team Lacrosse the winner of today’s quiz, Jackson doesn’t hesitate in running to the prize table to collect his foot bath. Scott and Allison start kissing and Lydia just has a Cheshire grin on her face. Stiles can’t resist looking at Team Lupin’s table. They don’t look too disappointed, in fact the only one who looks put out at all is Erica. She seems to share Jackson’s love for fondue sets and foot baths.

Of course, it doesn’t take too long before Stiles is staring at Derek again. Suddenly, Derek is looking at Stiles and there is eye contact. Like really intense eye contact. The spell is finally broken when Jackson throws a DVD at him.

“Here you go, Stilinski, a box set of Rome. Perhaps you can finally begin to comprehend my area of expertise.”

“Gee, thanks Jackson, you are ever so generous.” He gives Scott a nudge, “Let’s go to the prize table before Jackson completely raids it.”

Stiles is enormously pleased when he finds a new version of Beetlejuice.

It looks like everything is going back to normal.

*

Only it turns out that Team Lupin isn’t as easily beaten as Lydia had assumed. The next Sunday, there is a new member sitting at their table. Stiles is running a bit late, thanks to his not so reliable jeep, and his team has already gathered around their usual table.

“What’s the dish on Team Lupin, who is the new girl?”

“Her name is Laura, according to Mrs. Anderson and since Derek actually talks to her, she’s probably his girlfriend,” Lydia says, sounding very pissed off.

Stiles’ heart sinks.

“But I thought Derek had a major crush on you? Why would he take his girlfriend with him?”

“I don’t know, Stiles,” Lydia snaps. “I’m not here to discuss Derek Hale’s love life, okay. If you’re that interested, go ask him! All I want to know about Laura is her specialization. I need to buy some expensive vials for my experiment, I could really use the prize money.”

“Message received, I will focus completely on the competition. Meanwhile, Scott and Allison can focus on each other.”

“Scott, Allison, stop kissing this instant! This is not the place for romance, this is business. I need my team to focus today. The enemy is Team Lupin and we will destroy them!”

It sounds to Stiles like she is going to start reciting her Braveheart speech again.

*

Two hours, five rounds and surprisingly no Hitchcock question later, and Mrs. Anderson doesn’t declare a winner. She’s too busy consulting her rule book about how to handle a tie. It seems like the addition of Laura has made the teams completely equal and they’ve both answered every question correctly.

Lydia is seething, she’s starting to scare Stiles a little. Jackson is pissed off that he isn’t allowed to storm the prize table and even Allison and Scott look disappointed.

Team Lupin stays absolutely calm as always. Laura is even grinning and she keeps looking at Stiles like she knows something he doesn’t. One thing is clear, she knows a lot about culture and fashion.

It looks like Mrs. Anderson is reading the entire rule book, starting from page one, so Stiles decides this is the perfect time for a bathroom break. Before he has a chance to go inside, Laura is standing in front of him.

“Hi, it’s Stiles, right?,” she asks.

“Stiles Stilinski reporting for duty. And you are?”

“Of course, how rude. I haven’t even introduced myself. My name is Laura Hale, I’m Derek’s _sister_ ,” she emphasizes that last word like she’s making a point. All Stiles knows is that he is strangely relieved that she isn’t his girlfriend after all. It seems that Lydia isn’t right about everything like she always claims to be.

“The Hale family seems to have a passion for quizzing.”

“It’s a very recently developed passion, in fact it seemed to suddenly appear when Derek took his first class in sociology.”

Suddenly, Stiles realizes that Derek Hale isn’t just the guy who turned up at their quiz competition. He’s also the ridiculously hot guy who sat next to Stiles in his sociology class. But when Stiles decided to make some conversation, he was abruptly cut off because apparently ‘class is not the place to socialize.’ He never spotted the guy again, after that first class.

“Oh my god, your brother is an incredibly rude person,” Stiles tells Laura.

“He does have a tendency to give off that impression. But trust me, he may look all mean and rough on the outside, but he is a genuine teddy bear on the inside.”

“I find that a bit hard to believe. Why are you even telling me this, in the first place,” Stiles asks, feeling a bit suspicious.

“Because, unlike your very angry friend Lydia, my brother does treat this place as his own personal dating service.”

“So, he is crushing on Lydia,” Stiles concludes.

Laura rolls her eyes at him. “If I didn’t see you in action during that quiz, I’d think you were very stupid. My brother has a huge crush on you, duh.”

Stiles feels like he was just attacked by a defibrillator, his heart rate is not very stable.

“But, that doesn’t make any sense. He didn’t want to talk to me in class, why would he go to the trouble of creating his own quiz team?”

“Boys are very stupid, and they tend to do stupid things when they like someone. Like for instance, starting a quiz team to get their attention instead of just talking to them. Derek has an ability to complicate things and come up with very elaborate plans. And somehow he convinced his friends to join in on this ridiculous scheme. Of course, he had to recruit me this week, just to make sure that Team Lupin kept winning.”

“So, he really wasn’t trying to win the prizes, he was actually trying to win my heart.” Stiles feels like he is floating on air.

“Oh my god, you sound like a Disney character. You two really are a perfect match. But we need to sort out this ridiculous competition between our teams before Lydia decides to throw a Molotov cocktail at us. I have no intention of spending my Sundays in this musty smelling community center. That means you need to ask out my brother so he can finally stop learning encyclopedias by heart.”

Stiles is starting to feel a bit sweaty. “I really can’t, and by the way I really have to go the bathroom.”

Stiles tries to open the door again, but is blocked by Laura’s arm.

“Dude, there is like a 0% chance of rejection, do you realize how lucky you are? Find your balls and go ask out my brother,” she orders.

Stiles realizes that he will never escape the clutches of Laura Hale, who has surprisingly sharp nails and Stiles has a very fragile skin.

He takes a deep breath and turns around, back to the main room. But instead of walking back to his own table, he walks straight over to Team Lupin’s table.

Erica rewards him with a smile for his incredible bravery.

“Hello, Stiles, what brings you to our table? Mrs. Anderson is only halfway through the rule book or are you here to admit defeat.”

Stiles tries not to crumble under the questioning looks of Boyd and Isaac. The only one at the table not staring at him, is unsurprisingly Derek.

“I’ve actually come to negotiate with your captain, Lydia gave me very strict orders. I hope you’ve learned by now to always follow Lydia’s orders.”

“That does seem the sensible thing to do,” Boyd says. Isaac and Erica look surprised that he talked to Stiles.

“Indeed, shall we, Derek?” Stiles really hopes that his voice is not shaking as much as he thinks it does.

But Derek seems to get the message because he gets up and follows Stiles outside.  A little privacy can’t hurt and Stiles tries really hard to ignore his own team, who are probably hopelessly confused by this.

Once they get outside, Stiles begins to lose his nerve but before he can even muster up the courage to say something, Derek starts talking.

“I realize my sister has probably told you everything, she’s very annoying that way.”

Stiles nods as confirmation.

“She is predictable, that’s the reason I asked her to join my team. Isaac, Boyd and Erica really hate quizzing. Without Laura, I probably would have no friends left and I still wouldn’t have talked to you. I realize that you have probably received better offers than this, but would you like to go out with me?”

“Dude, you entered a quiz just to get my attention. As far as romantic gestures go, that is well, really weird but I have a feeling that we’re both a bit weird. So, it suits us and it’s a great story for the grandchildren. Not that I’m thinking about grandchildren before we even had our first date, it’s just that potentially…”

“Stiles, this may sound a bit forward, but can I kiss you?”

“You may,” Stiles answers.

Their first kiss is quite tender and sweet. Unfortunately, it’s their third kiss that Lydia spots and that one is a lot more passionate. An hour later, Stiles’ ears are still ringing from the incredibly loud sounds that Lydia can produce but he couldn’t care less, he has a date with a very good kisser.

*

Jackson and Lydia make Derek and the rest of his team swear that they will never quiz again. Once they do, a truce can finally be reached between the two groups and Team Lacrosse once again rules the Deaton Quiz Competition.

The only questions that Stiles wants an answer to, are more of a Derek-related variety. He discovers Derek’s favorite ice cream, his favorite baseball team, the meaning of his various grunts and so on.

It seems like Stiles has found a whole new specialization.


End file.
